ACLU Files Public Records Requests to Wyoming Highway Patrol, Counties with 287(g) Agreements

The ACLU of Wyoming is seeking information about the decision-making process behind the signing of 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement throughout the state and has filed public records requests with seven counties and the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

The public records requests are part of the ACLU’s campaign to end 287(g) agreements in Wyoming and follow the filing of a lawsuit challenging Laramie County’s 287(g) agreements with ICE. Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak signed the contracts without the authorization of the Laramie County Commission, the county’s governing body. He also failed to comply with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act’s rulemaking process that would have ensured that the community had an opportunity to comment on the contracts before they were adopted as county policy.

Specifically, the ACLU is asking Campbell, Carbon, Crook, Hot Springs, Lincoln, Natrona and Sweetwater Counties – each of which has one or more active 287(g) agreements with ICE – for records showing that their county governing bodies officially sanctioned the decision to participate in the 287(g) program. Additionally, the ACLU is seeking records showing that the counties and the Wyoming Highway Patrol complied with the rulemaking process in the Wyoming Administrative Procedures Act before entering into the 287(g) agreements.

The following statement can be attributed to Andrew Malone, ACLU of Wyoming senior staff attorney:

“The way 287(g) agreements have quickly multiplied across Wyoming over the past year is deeply concerning. But more than that, we’re alarmed about how quietly the deals are being made. When it comes to decisions that affect our communities so drastically, Wyomingites deserve a transparent, democratic process — not unilaterally-signed agreements that fundamentally change how our local law enforcement works. We don’t have clear public information about how our public officials entered into these agreements, and that opacity is itself part of the problem.

“Meanwhile, under many of these 287(g) agreements, local law enforcement officers are being used to carry out ‘show me your papers’ immigration enforcement — often during routine traffic stops — eroding constitutional protections, undermining public safety and diverting limited local resources away from core law enforcement responsibilities.”

Copies of the letters sent to the counties and the Wyoming Highway Patrol are below.

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About the ACLU of Wyoming

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming is a chapter and program of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights.

The ACLU believes freedoms of press, speech, assembly, and religion, and the rights to due process, equal protection and privacy, are fundamental to a free people. In addition, the ACLU seeks to advance constitutional protections for groups traditionally denied their rights, including people of color, women and LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit communities. The ACLU of Wyoming carries out its work through selective litigation, lobbying at the state and local level, and through public education and awareness of what the Bill of Rights means for the people of Wyoming.